Trevor Lawrence on Jaguars’ Skill Group: ‘I Feel Really Confident in Our Group Up Against Anyone’

The game isn't played on paper. Trevor Lawrence knows that the Jacksonville Jaguars -- despite all of their positive momentum -- are going to have to prove it on the field.

But from what he has seen so far, the Jaguars won't have any trouble doing that when it comes to their skill group on offense.

“I would, yeah," Lawrence said after practice on Wednesday when asked if he would put the Jaguars' skill group up against any in the NFL.

"We have a lot of work to do and through training camp, [and] we'll keep finding out how good we are as far as just talent goes. The guys that were here last year, we have that chemistry and that connection. I feel really confident in our group up against anyone."

It is easy to see why Lawrence feels that way. The Jaguars' wide receivers, led by Christian Kirk, Zay Jones and Calvin Ridley had a field day to open camp on Wednesday. Kirk and Jones are fresh off career years, while tight end Evan Engram is coming off a career year of his own and just got a new deal.

"We don’t play against the other skill groups, that’s the thing, so it doesn’t really matter as much. But, to your point, I do think we are evenly matched if not above, so I feel really confident in it.”

Kirk, who the Jaguars signed to a four-year, $72 million deal with $37 million guaranteed last March, was everything the Jaguars could have asked for in 2022 during a career year.

Kirk finished with career highs in yards (1,108), catches (84), and touchdowns (8) while also catching 15 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the playoffs. Kirk finished tied for 18th in catches, 14th in receiving yards, and tied for 11th in touchdown catches.

Ridley, the No. 26 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, caught 217 passes for 3,061 yards and 26 touchdowns in his first three seasons. He played in five games in 2021 before stepping away from the team, catching 31 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns.

"They both can do different things but as far as what they do, they're both really good route runners, really smart, and know how to set guys up," Lawrence said. "Christian works primarily in the slot and he's good in space and working that area of the field. Calvin is that outside guy, one-on-one, whatever it is he's going to be able to go win for us on a lot of different things."

The Jaguars' offense has sky-high expectations. A year after finishing as a top-10 unit, the Jaguars believe there truly may be no ceiling for their passing game in 2023 -- and it starts with Lawrence and his weapons.

"So having that option is going to open our offense up along with Zay as well. We've got two guys outside that are studs, we've got Christian inside and Evan as well depending on what it is. We've also got (WR Jamal Agnew) Ag, I mean we just have so many weapons," Lawrence said.

"It's going to be tough for defenses to know what to expect because we can do so many different things. We're not one-dimensional. Those guys can do a lot of different things, they can run every route so it's going to help us a lot. "

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